[I had been talking to Tig and Lumes about the possibility of having a Festival after party here at the cottage. Feel free to bring any or all of your Serians into this thread, and their bonds. NO powerplaying... or you will be ignored in this thread. With as many Serians roaming about, things could get complicated rather easily... and powerplaying will only add to the confusion. Please, if you want people to know what your Serians look like, post links to their pictures rather than the images themselves. It'll save space. Also, please be kind and limit your posts per day on this one, just to give people a chance to catch up if they run behind]

Now that Tal had managed to be convinced by her Serians that this was a good idea, she wasn't sure she could handle the throngs of guests that her bonds expected. None the less, she still managed to get her cottage in working order.

The cottage was basically cleaned out of all furniture. Tal had managed to skillfully manuever the majority of it through a portal back to her other residence in Comeltum, with her Serian's help, where she would pick it up later after the party had come to a close. Serians and furniture typically did not mix, as Talia had found so early on with Bridle and the... err... couch incident. With the cottage being cleaned of all Serian hazards, she had adorned the wall with various pieces of artwork from the festival that she had collected. Outdoors, tables were set up at Serian height, loaded to the max with goodies for her bonds and their friends, with a separate table for food that the Serians bonds, like herself, could enjoy. An impressive stack of fireworks were set up at the corner of the house, ready to be lit off at precisely the right moment. A particularly large one was set aside as the finale of the fireworks show... Talia was quite fond of that one, as it had been made by a friend to depict the altar symbols in vivid brilliance.

Patiently, she continued to arrange artwork and adjust the wall hangings inside, and had just decided that perhaps she should add some balloons, when Bridle came nosing his way into the indoors.

With a snort of impatience, he gestured towards the outdoors with his nose and stamped a hoof.

Gem and Silver seem to find some secret delight in destroying our food display before guests have even arrived! he complained, looking slightly irate that his son had not bothered to listen to him when he had told him to stop. Talia chuckled and mussed his mane, just to irritate him further.

"Ahh Bridle... just let them be. No doubt they'll be distracted enough to avoid the tables when their mates arrive..."

Bridle glared at the outside and continued to scowl darkly.

Indeed... first they take no interest in keeping our booth orderly, and now they're decimating our food table...

With a little laugh, Talia ushered Bridle back outdoors, hoping that perhaps Vapor would appear soon and dispel his dark mood. It was common enough, nowadays, to have conflicts between father and son... and Talia found it rather comical.

Sure enough, right outside, she found Gem and Silver nosing about in the food, inspecting what prize morsels Talia had put out earlier. Silver looked up guiltily as Talia drew closer, flicking his tail and holding his head low, as if ashamed... Talia's closeness only seemed to drive Gem, who continued to act impish and amuse herself by convienently dropping an apple onto SilverRain's head. Silver stared up in surprise, and Gem laughed aloud as Talia placed the apple back onto the table and quietly began to rearrange the food.

Off in the distance, she noticed Tatter lounging in the fields, enjoying the relative quiet of the valley. He had never been one for overly large crowds... no doubt if Mango arrived, the two of them would take off and leave the party. That was four Serians accounted for... In the other direction she noticed Galaxy and Vision talking amongst themselves. The two of them had become as thick as molasses after meeting those two mares of theirs at the festival, and Talia had noticed that Gem had become increasingly jealous of Vision's attention. Tal was proud that they had both managed to find such suitable mares that seemed to compliment their personality. Galaxy looked up for a moment to whinney a greeting at Talia, before lowering his head again to chat with Vision. She caught Gem's gaze as she glanced in their direction, and frowned slightly as the mare left Silver to find her own spot in the valley by herself. Now.... only one more to account for....

"Bridle... have you seen Nymph?" she asked, as she idly stroked his mane. The stallion shook his head and looked to the horizon, as if to see if she had joined her other Serian companions in the valley.

No... although she was with me earlier. She's still not overly fond of too much company... too many Serians still tends to spook her, he added with a small smile.

Talia almost jumped in shock when she felt a cautious nuzzle on her other side. The mare had been so quiet that Talia hadn't even heard her coming!

When will the guests be arriving? she asked, her voice barely above a tenative whisper. Talia smiled fondly.

"Not for a little bit yet love... likely the mates will arrive first, and any others after that had heard about the party through word of mouth."

The little emerald mare nodded shyly and pressed herself up against Talia's side, fluttering her wings nervously. Bridle had been her constant companion since she had bonded the mare, and he treated her much as he would a daughter. The big stallion nuzzled her fondly before meandering off, the mare keeping pace beside him.

Now to wait for the guests....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC:/If anyone wants to see pictures of the stallions/mares mentioned above, here are their links... or picture links, in the case of Nymph.

Chaos was bothing his friend's mother like mad, and luckily the patient warrioress Vapor still had that serene smile that always said 'Chaos, I stopped listening ten minutes ago...' Both were in good spirits it seemed, and a frosty little mare followed closely behind, looking up to no good. Vapor quickly spotted Bridle and trotted over, rubbing up against him and grinning. "Nicetoseeyouagainhandsome..."

Chaos now had nothing to do and hardly expected it when Frostbite lunged and pinned him to the ground. Man she was getting good at that. Without a word, she trotted off. There were Serians she hadn't met of Tal's before and she wanted to say hello. She smiled at Galaxy, was this the one Zephyr had talked about? Apparently they both got a little makeover after the festival. "GalaxyItakeit?I'mFrostbite.. " She paused and realized one of her close friends was sitting nearby. "Vision!Imissedyou...howareyou? " She hoped she wasn't interrupting, but seated herself nearby both stallions, smiling sociably.

Chime sauntered in with Sirensong close behind, curiously looking about and not really knowing anyone. Luckily for her she had another clueless newcomer, the stallion Comet. Chime really only felt obligated to get them inside, then they were on their own. She had a few key Serians she was looking to hang around with and she spotted Beta waiting off by a tree. She was her other mischief partner now when Frostbite was occupied. Gem would probably be oh so jealous, the thought made her laugh.

Sirensong kept close to Comet and they seated themselves randomly outside, glancing about and wondering how so many Serians knew so many other Serians! "Ifeelalittleoutofplace.Thankyouforaccompanyingmehowever.Youdon'thaveamateeitherItakeit? " Sirensong looked up, smiled, and shook her head. "Naw,butyaneverknowwhatcanhappenatthesethings. "

Rainer grinned as Arch nudged her back eagerly. "Hurry! Please Rainer, I wanna see if it's started yet!" She laughed, as Spin snorted, trotting up beside her. "You guys, relax. I bet we'll be early."

Earlier on, Arch had flown over the cottage, and noticed the party being set up. So the blue stallion had quickly gone to tell his bonded, and nobody else felt like they should go, except for Spin. The stallion had brought his young daughter along, the little light blue filly trotted curiously beside her father. "Daddy... Where are we going?"

Rainer's grin grew wider. She couldn't believe how cute SaphireSpin was! Spin had told her that there was also a colt, and she looked foreward to seeing Spin's other offspring. 'Frolic must be so proud' She thought to herself, as Arch lipped at her sleeve. "A party, hunny. You'll have tons of fun." Spin smiled down at his filly, and she snuggled close to his side.

"It's right over here!" Arch took her sleeve between his teeth and led her carefully towards the cottage. Rainer glanced around, feeling as if she were tresspassing. "Talia?"

Bridle almost lost his footing as his mate brushed up against the side of him, and the still nervous Nymph danced away from the opposite side of him. With a laugh, he nuzzled Vapor and grinned roguishly.

Good to see you too gorgeous, he replied, delivering a quick playful nip to her shoulder. Nymph glanced at the two of them nervously, and Bridle chuckled.

Love, this is Nymph... Talia's newest bond.. he said with a wink. Nymph did a little bit of a dance that reminded Bridle of a curtsey, and smiled shyly. She's not used to crowds yet... she's been my shadow for the last week, he added in a whispered undertone.

Silver spotted his childhood companion/rival and grinned mischeiviously, before retrieving the apple that Gem has so casually tossed at his head and hurling it at Chaos with a certain amount of ferocity and a devilish grin.

Catch! he yelled.

Gem snorted to herself as she noticed Frostbite, Galaxy and Vision conversing. Not that she should be upset about any of this... she had Surf now... and she cared about him more than anything... but still...

To distract herself, she took in some of the newcomers... and spotted a bright yellow mare with two other Serians, and thought that it would be fitting to say hello.

Hello... Chime, is it? I think I remember Tinsel mentioning your name awhile back. I'm Gem, she said with a friendly smile, all the while glancing back to see what Vision was up to. Who are your friends, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I've heard mention of them...

Tatter continued to watch all the accumulating chaos from a distance and yawned. It wasn't his thing... he'd come over there eventually if something intrigued him. Until then, he was content to wait and see if Mango would show up.

Vision looked up in surprise as he heard a familiar voice, a smile lighting up his usually serene face.

Frostbite! It does me good to hear your voice again. I missed your company... you should really come by more often, he said, offering her a brief warm nuzzle. She had always been a complex one, but he enjoyed talking to her. Had he not met Wave, he might have visited Frostbite more often... her mere countenance intrigued him.

Galaxy chuckled... it seemed the two of them knew each other quite well, a fact that Galaxy found quite amusing for his friend. Vision often kept his own counsel, and he had never made mention of Frostbite...or his previous relationship with Gem...

Frostbite eh? he said with a chuckle. Vision, how come you've never introduced me to your friend before? Although I think I saw you at one point, during the festival, he added with a smile and a brief welcoming nod towards the mare.

Nymph shyly took in the guests, and since Bridle seemed preoccupied with Vapor, she pressed close to Talia's side. Talia smiled and patted Nymph's shoulder reassuringly. She was trying... She paused her train of thought as she heard her name being called, and noticed a person walking across the valley towards the cottage, accompanied by two stallions and a little filly.

"That's me!" she said cheerfully as she grinned warmly at the newcomers. "Rainer I believe? It's good to see you... I'm so glad you all came, especially the little one... it's so nice to see them out with their parents," she added, looking fondly after SilverRain's form. "This here is Nymph, my newest bond... I don't think I've met your Serians yet, but feel free to make yourself at home," she added with a smile. Nymph hid herself behind Talia's shoulder, secretly wishing that the cottage wasn't becomming so... crowded.

Rainer smiled, "It's good to see you too. This is Arch" She patted the blue stallions neck, and he released his hold on her sleeve, to bow his head respectfully to Talia. "Spin." The red stallion grinned at the human, before going back to fussing with the filly's forelock. "And the filly is SaphireSpin."

"This was good idea, throwing a party. Now everyone can have a good time and not just the serians" She grinned as Arch rolled his eyes, and left to sneak up on Chime, gently nipping the mare's flank.

It was then that SaphireSpin decided to play shy, hiding her head in her sire's black mane, avoiding his caring gaze. She flicked her tiny purple tail, seeming to try and make herself dissapear.

Spin sighed happily when SaphireSpin decided to stick close, and not venture off... He began to wonder how Frolic was doing with Summer Soltice. He had a hunch that when he had first seen the colt that he would be a handfull, and had yet to be proven wrong or right.

"ENOUGH!" SunBlind finally exploxed. Silver Fox had been bugging SunBlind ever since he found out about this party and she couldn't take it any longer. Even as they were nearing it, he was getting frustrated by the slow pace of their approach.

"I bet Titan is already there, and she doesn't move fast at all..." the young stallion grumbled.

A sharp nip on his shoulder convinced him otherwise, "I'm right here you little mischief maker. Now behave."

SunBlind rolled her eyes at Titan telling Silver Fox to behave, like as if she would do the same. Fortunately Shadow Trick and Dark Arrow had decided to stay home. No, on the contrary, Dark Arrow would have been useful to keep his half-brother in line. Ah well, at least they were here.

Silver Fox immediately dashed off to see if Zephyr might be around (or if there was any good trouble to be gotten into). Titan on the other hand, had her eyes set on a blue stallion. Then the other yellow mare caught her attention, hmm, Chime. Without a second thought, the heavier mare sauntered over to Arch as if Chime were invisible and said in a seductive tone, "Miss me, oh studly one?"

SunBlind found a safe place to sit down and wondered what she had just unleashed on the unsuspecting party-goers.

OOC - I don't know how often I'll be able to RP but I'll try to keep up *g*